Simpson produces reverse sweep to defeat Luther

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson College volleyball battled back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 over Luther on Saturday with set scores of 21-25, 19-25, 28-26, 25-21, 15-9 to allow head coach Kekailoa Palea to earn his first victory at home.

The Storm (2-4, 2-4 A-R-C) played in their fourth five-set match of the season and have now won two of those contests.

The turning point happened late in the third set with the Norse (0-5, 0-5 A-R-C) sitting at match point at 24-22. Madison Fleer tallied a kill to cut the lead down to one before the visitors had an attack error to knot the match at 24-24. Luther extended the lead to one just before Lexie Parks tallied a kill. The Norse collected a 26-25 lead on an attack, but Simpson rattled off three-straight points to steal the set.

The Storm hustled out to a quick 7-2 advantage and kept the lead intact through 15-10 in the fourth. Luther received four-straight points to steal the momentum and tie the set at 17-17. From there, Kamryn Juni and Megan LeMay teammed up for five kills to hand Simpson a 25-21 set victory to push the match into the fifth.

Juni had two kills and Alyson Rose had another to help the squad secure a 5-0 tilt to begin the final frame. The Storm would allow Luther to bounce back and place the set at 12-9. Marissa Salber had a kill to inch Simpson closer to the win at 13-9 and Luther followed with an attack error. With match point in reach, LeMay sent a serve down the line for an ace to secure the comeback.

The offense finished with 63 kills and 60 assists, while the Norse produced 55 kills and 54 assists. Fleer tallied 14 kills, and Parks (13), Juni (12) and Rose (11) each had double-digit efforts on the attack. Salber dished out 43 helpers for a career-high. At the net, the Storm blocked 10 attacks for a season high.

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Buena Vista will host the Storm on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. match in Storm Lake, Iowa.